In This Edition

From the President

Here are a few highlights and news tidbits from the past month:

Rain … a Four-Letter Word
October clouds, as if on cue, are rumbling silently by overhead. We’ve taken our first round of ‘shift, consolidate, and accommodate,’ as training schedules have had to react quickly to the weather and the needed protection of our fields. Fortunately, two of our valuable resources smoothed the bumpy and wet road. Special thanks to our field scheduler, Chas Thorp, who worked quickly with all agencies and got the word out to managers, coaches and teams. Thanks also to our players, volunteers and coaches for not missing a step. The second resource is literally the fields themselves. Strategically, from budgeting to personal relations, great effort went in to broadening our list of available all-weather surfaces, and with eight full-sized turf fields in our stable, the club’s ability to absorb our growth while providing the best available fields has passed its first test.

Fun … a Three-Letter Word
The fall season is in full swing and teams are clearly enjoying great success. It’s been a pleasure to receive so many stories and celebratory photographs which I can in turn post to our Facebook page. If you don’t follow it, please like or follow us on Facebook as it’s a great way to ensure some a steady stream of good news in your online feed. Similarly, keep the stories and photos coming. For parents in the juniors age group (U8-U11) who may be looking for a way to volunteer, consider photographing or otherwise profiling stories of your team’s players, development, or exploits, and then send it along to be shared.

FD … a Two-Letter Abbreviation for Field Day
All trainings will be cancelled on Wednesday, October 17th so the whole club can gather for an afternoon of fun and games at Field Day. This year’s event will be at San Rafael High, starting on the grass field and perhaps branching out from there as we finalize all the components of the day. New this year is food! ‘Off the Grid’ will be there with three food trucks, so come with cash for snacks or dinner!
More details to follow directly by email, but at a minimum, please plan on being there from 4:30pm to 6:30pm that afternoon (it’s mandatory unless you have an inescapable conflict). Parents are welcome!

1 … a Number, and Very Important One for That Matter
Thanks to everyone who have contributed to the goal of making Marin FC #1 in all aspects. Quietly, a tremendous amount of thinking, planning and hard work have gone into adding unique and new value to the club such that each and every team and player enjoys the benefits. Thanks go to the creators and those making it all happen. Many of these advancements reside on the club’s website. Rather than go deep into the weeds on these various items here, I’d instead encourage you to visit the site and ferret several new items, including the Coach Internship Program (CIP), Player Performance Tracking by Catapult (PPT), Medical Services and Partners, Travel Grants, the Olders to Juniors Mentoring Program, and our Strength, Conditioning and Injury Reduction (SCIR), just to spotlight a few.

Stay dry, have fun, and I’ll see you at Field Day. Go Marin FC!

Evan Cross, President

From the Director of Coaching

Here are a few highlights and news tidbits from the past month:

September was a particularly busy month, with ‘full swing’ league play, State Cup and assorted tournament commitments. There were too many to count but here are a few highlights:

G00 Red – Golden Gate Invitational champions

G06 Blue – Copa de Sierras champions

B05 White – Stanford Classic 3rd place finish

B06 Black – Wine Country Classic 3rd place finish

B03 White – Medina Fall Classic champions

G05 Red – Dublin Fall Classic champions

G04 White – Dublin Fall Classic runners-up

B04 White – Dublin Fall Classic champions

B02 Red – Davis Legacy champions

Additionally, several members of the G00 Blue team attended the Women’s National Team training prior to their game against Chile, which was a fantastic experience.

– Josh Kalkstein, DOC

In the Spotlight

This month’s spotlight features an interview with Tufts University freshman, Eric Ingersoll. Here’s what he had to say:

Tell our readers a little about yourself.My name is Eric Ingersoll. I was born in Berkeley, CA and grew up there and in neighboring Kensington, a dainty hotspot just north of Berkeley. My parents are Veronica and Chris, and I have a sister at Berkeley High, Isabella, as well as a little dog, Zamba. I attended Marin Academy and had an absolute blast there. I am currently a freshman at Tufts University near Boston, Massachusetts, and love to play music, read a good book or two, eat ravioli, and go camping for fun.

Recollect your Marin FC experience if you will.
I had a fantastic time playing for Marin FC. I came to Marin Academy without knowing the club existed. After playing for MA my freshmen year, two of my teammates, Nathan Lopes and Stefan Jung, recommended I tryout for their FC team. Am I ever glad I did that! I joined the team that year, and for the next three years I played some incredible soccer, improved a great deal, made some tremendous friends, traveled the length and breadth of the country, and carved some incredible memories.

What other schools did you look at and why did you ultimately pick Tufts?
I only really considered two colleges for soccer, Oberlin and Tufts. I loved Oberlin because of its rural location but ultimately chose Tufts because of its academic, musical, and athletic fit. So far so good!

What were some of the adjustments you had to make to successfully transition from club to collegiate ball?
Club to college soccer was an easy transition in some ways and a difficult one in others. The team here is super friendly, kind, and energetic. Furthermore, I feel as though the speed of play, while certainly faster than it was at club, has been a manageable transition. The most difficult part for sure has been the level of physicality. I’ll need to eat a ton!

Summarize your experience to date.Season-to-date, we have nine wins and zero losses or ties. Although I have not gotten too many minutes, there have been plenty of highlights. The most satisfying win came a few days ago over Amherst, a rival who play a direct style and are extremely physical.

What are you learning in college that will translate to life beyond school?
I would gander that the most fun I’ve had in my life has come through soccer, especially the last three teams I’ve been a part of: Marin FC, Marin Academy, and Tufts. The best part by far are the friends I’ve made on all three teams, friends that I likely would never even have met had it not been for this great game. I’m learning how to be a part of this wondrous community now and taking advantage of every moment I get to be a part of it. That is the biggest thing I have learned and will continue to learn as part of this team.

From athletics to academics. What are you studying?
Tufts is great because we do not have to declare a major until the end of our sophomore year. That said, I have started to think about a major and am considering Economics, International Relations, and Music Engineering, or a combination therein. We’ll see how things work out.

Any interests outside of soccer?
I have diverse interests beyond soccer, many of them music-related. I play piano, guitar, drums, and bass. I love getting to know people because they are the most interesting thing in all that I do. And I love being outside, in a rural place, where there are beautiful trees and a transcendent breeze. I also love camping, mountains, jangly guitars, and of course, Mike Gordon from Phish.

Any thoughts on life after college?
I have lots of conflicting thoughts around where I’d like to go after college. I’m conflicted by the want to live in the middle of nowhere where it’s beautiful, and the need to be around my pals, my family, and my home back in Berkeley. I haven’t much thought into a career at this point, but it would be convenient for it to center around something I‘m truly passionate about, I think.

The Marin FC alumni community is alive and well. Do you keep in touch with many of your former teammates?
I love my former teammates, both from high school soccer and from club. We do our very best to keep in touch, but it’s difficult as we are all over the country, and the world. That said, I will try to go to FC practices over the summer and hopefully see some of my former teammates around town then.

Anyone you want to thank or recognize at Marin FC?
Yes, I’d like to say a few things about two coaches that changed my life. First, I’d like to acknowledge coach Phil Gard, a very special person and someone Marin FC is incredibly lucky to have. He is kind, committed, puts his heart and soul into every team he is a part of and each individual on that team, holds his players accountable, pushes them, gives great advice, and wants the very best out of and for each and every one of his players. He constantly stressed that while we were on the team to succeed athletically, it was more important to succeed as people, and he modeled that expectation by example. He led us to many successes and molded us into better players along the way. He recognized where each of us needed to improve and routinely checked in with us to see how we were accomplishing said goals. He instilled a team mentality in each of us and made us want to win for each other. Phil was always professional and polished. He greeted everyone on the team before and after each practice and game and was always respectful to opposing teams and referees.

Then there’s coach Josh Kalkstein, another fantastic person and role model I was lucky enough to have as my high school and occasional club coach. I learned so much from Josh on how to play center back, especially on playing it in a way that capitalized on my strengths. Josh understood the nuances of each game, often making minor adjustments that benefitted us, whether it be switching two players on the field, having us attack one side more than the other, or giving specific direction to a player. More than any other team I have ever been on, Josh helped cultivate a high school culture that transcended the four years I got to play in it. I have never felt closer to a team as a result and wanted to put everything I had into each game, each challenge, each moment. Like Phil, Josh also placed great importance on succeeding both athletically and as a person. He got to know each player that played for him on a personal level and made everyone feel extremely valued. Any interaction with him is often the best part of my day.

Phil and Josh are two people I very much look up to. Their kindness and devotion to their players is something I will always remember and effort to emulate.

Before I let you go, give us a little insight into your interests and passions. Name three books on your book shelf, three gadgets you couldn’t live without, and three artists/bands in your iPod.
Three books:
• Modest Mouse: A Pretty Good Read
• Set the Boy Free (Johnny Marr’s autobiography)
• Everything in Its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead

Edited posts will be added to our website homepage “latest club news” section and posted on our Facebook page within 48 hours. We encourage you to use this tool to keep all in the club informed re: individual and team accomplishments. A big thanks to those of you that use it already.